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Dutch pension funds are likely to have weathered the market downturn better than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, partly because of a â¬21bn ($33bn) bet on commodity funds and thanks to relaxed rules on linking pensions payments to inflation, according to new research.

The study from investment bank Lehman Brothers has said that the model Dutch fund's solvency position fell by 8.3% during the six months to June 30, compared to a 13% deterioration for the model UK fund and a 9% drop for the model German portfolio.

The study assumed a typical asset allocation for each country's pension funds and examined the effect on it from movements in financial markets.

Lehman said that two factors contributed to the smaller fall in Dutch funds. While it is compulsory for UK funds to make pension payments in line with inflation, Dutch funds have more relaxed rules that allow it to pay less when returns are not so good, thereby reducing future liabilities.

Dutch schemes have also been keener on alternative investments than pension funds in other markets, particularly commodities. Lehman Brothers assumed a typical allocation to commodities of 3% of total Dutch funds, whereas for its UK and German models, it assumed 1%.

The Dutch pensions market was worth about €690bn at the end of last year, according to the investment consultancy Mercer. That implies about €21bn of Dutch pension assets are in commodities such as oil and metals, with the total likely having risen thanks to positive returns.

Commodities have been one of the few asset classes to rise in value throughout the market crisis. During the six-month period the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index gained 42%, and despite recent price falls, is still 23% up since the start of the year.

By contrast, both the UK's FTSE 100 index and the US' S&P 500 fell by about 13% during the first half.

The biggest Dutch pension scheme, the €205bn ABP, made over 44% on its commodities investments during the first half of 2008. The scheme targets a 3% allocation to commodities, but it is likely the actual level has risen thanks to the good returns and losses in other areas.

During 2007, the second-biggest Dutch scheme, PGGM, made 35.6% on its commodties investments.

Alan Rubenstein, head of Lehman Brothers' pensions advisory group in Europe, said that schemes that had hedged their liabilities through swaps designed to neutralise exposure to rising inflation or interest-rates had also benefited.

He said: "In the UK, for example, funds that hedged their liabilities saw funding levels fall by four per cent less than those that did not. The relative resilience of Dutch pension schemes, meanwhile, highlights the value of diversifying portfolios through alternatives."